The Return of Nightmare Moon
by A Derpy King Boo
Summary: Two hundred years ago, Nightmare Moon had been defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Now, in a tense time, Luna is tempted to become Nightmare Moon once more. Since her friends have passed on, Twilight must defeat Nightmare Moon on her own!
1. The Return of Nightmare Moon

The Return of Nightmare Moon

It has been a long, long time since Princess Luna had been transformed from Nightmare Moon into what she is this very moment. Back then, Luna, as she preferred to be called, had strong ties to the darkness that was portrayed and cemented into her heart. Now, thanks to the help of a specific purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, Luna has learned to control the dark emotions that tremble and boil inside of her. However, they still tend to show themselves from time to time, trying to convince Luna to become Nightmare Moon again. In order to calm herself from those emotions, Luna thinks about the first thousand years she spent trapped in the moon. Then, she was known as the Mare in the Moon. Everypony knew that legend, especially the ending: On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will help aid in her escape.

THAT was the first time Nightmare Moon had returned, which was over two hundred years ago. Now, times have changed, and so have the subjects. The ponies that defeated Nightmare Moon are long gone, except for Twilight Sparkle, who became a princess, and more importantly, an alicorn. Princess Twilight Sparkle is all that remains of the original six ponies that defeated Nightmare Moon long ago and since her friends passed on, she has lost her sense of leadership and socialism, often locking herself away from the general public.

Luna and her sister, Princess Celestia, along with Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor, haven't seen or heard from Princess Twilight Sparkle in a long time now. They keep saying that they should visit her to try to cheer her up but they never can seem to find the time to do that, since royal duties always tend to call.

Now, royal duties call for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to lower the Sun and raise the Moon, signifying the end of day and the beginning of nighttime. Luna always loved doing this because this meant she could paint the sky with her beautiful stars and other astrological signs. But, as much as she loved this, she hated the fact the everypony always slept through her gorgeous nights. Often times, Luna rose the moon angrily or flew somewhere to be alone, a place nopony could ever find her at; the old castle she shared with her bigger sister, Celestia, deep within the Everfree Forest.

Today, or rather, tonight, Luna rose the moon with her magic and looked down upon her subjects. She grew angry as she noticed them returning to their homes and lights flickering off. Luna knew that everypony was going to sleep. Only a few ponies remained out on the streets to witness the picture perfect night Luna had provided them.

Luna, enraged and hurt, immediately flew away to go be alone. Celestia saw her younger sister furiously flying away and tried to stop her.

"Luna, wait!" But it was no good as Luna had already disappeared.

Luna had flown over the Everfree Forest. She noticed Zecora's hut down below at a quick glance. Hurt by all the ponies and their sleeping through her night, she continued to fly on until she reached the secluded portion of the forest that contained the remains of what used to be the castle she shared with Celestia. Hooves on the ground after a long flight, Luna marched into the old castle, to her old room. There, she collapsed on her old bed and began to cry.

_Oh,_ Luna thought to herself, _why must they sleep through our beautiful nights? Do they not see __the greatness of being awake during the night? Why must they sleep through our nights? It does hurt us so..._

Luna looked up and started to wipe the tears from her eyes. Her long, glowing, sparkling mane had reflected the moon's light, which hit an old statue. This statue, which originally wasn't part of the castle, was placed there by Luna herself. This statue was one of Nightmare Moon, which contained all the armor, just in case Luna wanted eternal night once more. Luna has been tempted before to pick up where she had originally left off as Nightmare Moon, but had always come to her senses before those emotions took over. She thought back to when she first returned as Nightmare Moon.

_Seize her, only she knows where the Princess is!_

Even worse was when she was defeated and transformed back into her current state. The Elements of Harmony, controlled by Applejack the Honest, Fluttershy the Kind, Pinkie Pie of Laughter, Rarity the Generous, Rainbow Dash the Loyal, and the Magical Twilight Sparkle, reigned down on her, destroying the armor and curse of Nightmare Moon. It was then that Luna realized what Celestia meant to her and what it meant to rule side-by-side with her.

Now, the Element Holders have all passed on, the most recent being Rainbow Dash the Loyal, with the exception of Princess Twilight Sparkle. All the Elements have mysteriously disappeared as well and, ironically, that was the last day anypony saw Princess Twilight.

Luna turned away from the statue but some voices in her head were persuading her into looking back at it. She was fed up with the ponies sleeping through the night all the time and hated how she was shunned by everypony. She curled up in the shadow of her older sister, Princess Celestia, all the time and always disliked being the Princess nopony knew about. Luna used her magic and took off the helmet that was on the statue. Bringing it closer, she heard hoofsteps from what was left of the hallway. Quickly turning around, she noticed that the hoofsteps came from Celestia.

The first thing Celestia noticed was the helmet that was floating next to her younger sister. "My dear sister, what are you doing?"

Luna looked away, not wanting to answer that question. Celestia took note of this and moved on from it.

"What's the matter, my sister?" she asked. "What has you feeling so sad?"

Still not looking at her sister, Luna quietly answered. "I'm fed up with everypony sleeping through our perfect nights!"

Celestia smiled, "Is that what this is all about?"

Luna turned around the second Celestia asked that. "What do you mean 'Is that what this is about?'"

"Luna," continued Celestia, "I understand your frustration and how you feel, but-"

Luna cut her off. "No you don't! You don't understand how we feel or our frustration!" She had accidentally slipped into using the traditional Royal Canterlot voice, intensifying her voice so that she could clearly state her point.

Celestia noticed her sister growing even more angry. "My sister, though I may never understand what you feel, I must say this: It is time to lower the moon. Everypony is soon going to be awake and ready to start the day. You must lower the moon."

Luna didn't notice how long she had been here in her old room. She looked at the helmet floating next to her and put it on. Using her magic, she grabbed the rest of Nightmare Moon's armor and put it on. "No! This night shall last forever!"

Celestia tried to calm her sister down, using her magic as a way of warning her of what would happen. Luna took notice of this very quickly.

"You're kidding, right?" She said. She stood up on her back hooves to show that she was the more dominant one as she used her magic to trap Celestia in a magic-proof force field.

"Luna," Celestia called, "don't do this! Don't you dare think about it! Snap out of it Luna! You've got to fight those emotions!" Celestia felt a tear coming down the side of her face and wiped it away with her hoof.

Luna became even more enraged than what she was earlier. Using the Royal Canterlot voice, she spoke out against her sister. "DO NOT CALL ME LUNA! I AM NIGHTMARE MOON, QUEEN OF THE ETERNAL NIGHT!" And with a huff, Nightmare Moon stormed off into the nighttime sky.

It has been quite some time since Nightmare Moon has left Celestia trapped in the anti-magic force field. Celestia grew weary of what had become of her younger sister, Luna. _Oh, what happened to you, little sister?_ She thought to herself.

Just then, the anti-magic force field had vanished into thin air, most likely because Nightmare Moon was just too far away to keep it in tact. Anyway, with Celestia free now, she flew off into the night sky to the distant little town known as Ponyville. This place was very familiar to Celestia since this is where Twilight Sparkle lived when she was still her student. Upon arriving, she noticed at how everypony was running a muck, frightened by the eternal night.

"Look," somepony shouted, "here comes Princess Celestia! She has come to save us from this most dreadful of times!"

Everypony turned to Celestia, expecting her to raise the Sun and end the eternal night, but she looked away in shame. "I cannot do that since Nightmare Moon has returned to our fair world. My magic has been countered by hers and it forbids me from raising the Sun. I came here looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle. I need her to yield the Elements of Harmony once more. Does anypony know where she is?"

Everypony looked at one another. Nopony knew where the Princess was but Celestia thought that this may be so. When she departed from the town square, Celestia went to the library to see if Twilight was there. She knew that Twilight always loved to read books and gain knowledge. When she finally got to the library, the door was open. Making sure to be careful, Celestia put one hoof inside the door and checked to see if Twilight was inside. When she noticed that she wasn't, Celestia went to see if she was in the other room. She reached the door and tried to open it, but couldn't; it was locked. Celestia looked around to see if there was a key that could open the door but had no luck in finding one. When all hope seemed lost, the door unlocked and opened up. Out came a dark figure.

"I figured you would show up here." The figure ominously said. "I suppose it has something to do with the endless night, am I not right?"

"You are entirely right." answered Celestia. "I was hoping I could receive some assistance in helping put an end to Nightmare Moon."

The dark figure raised its head, curious by the name that was just spoken. "Did you just say 'Nightmare Moon?'"

Celestia nodded, "Yes. Nightmare Moon has returned and I need Princess Twilight's help. Do you know where she is?"

The figure stepped forward, revealing who they were. When light finally hit the pony, it was revealed that they had a black coat. Along with it, Celestia noticed that this pony had a purple horn. The unknown pony took off her coat and it was noticed that, along with the purple horn, this pony had purple wings. This pony was an alicorn; this pony was Princess Twilight Sparkle!

"I thought I defeated Nightmare Moon along with..." Twilight stopped and tears began to fall from her eyes. She missed her friends very much.

Celestia noticed Twilight's tears and walked up to her. Putting one hoof on Twilight's chest, Celestia calmed Twilight down, wiping her tears with her other hoof. "There, there, Twilight. It's all right."

Twilight eventually came to her senses and the two ponies resumed conversation. "I thought Nightmare Moon had been defeated long ago." Twilight said.

Celestia nodded, "You have. However, she has returned and I need you to yield the Elements of Harmony again. You're the only pony that has connections with them."

Twilight looked up at Celestia. "But how do I defeat Nightmare Moon when I'm the only one who can use the Elements? The other five are gone..."

Celestia didn't know how to respond but managed to do so anyway. "I'm sure that you can do it. After all, before you received them, Luna and I have yielded the Elements by ourselves against Discord."

Twilight accepted her challenge and proceeded to where the Elements of Harmony were kept. They have not been touched or seen since by Twilight since Rainbow Dash had passed on but she managed to find them and, using her magic, sync together with them. The two Princesses then left and headed on out to go find Nightmare Moon.

The night sky was darker than before and darkness has been spreading out all over Equestria. The only place that hasn't seen eternal darkness was the Crystal Empire, where Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor were. Twilight flew towards the Crystal Empire with the hopes that Nightmare Moon was doing the same. Once Twilight had arrived, she noticed that the streets were empty. Everypony had locked themselves inside in order to protect themselves from Nightmare Moon's wrath. Twilight proceeded to the Crystal Castle, alongside Celestia.

The two ponies arrived and were greeted warmly and kindly by Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. Twilight hadn't seen either one of them since Rainbow Dash's funeral in Canterlot. Everypony noticed the sky getting darker and all turned around; flying through the air was Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare Moon noticed everypony standing in the streets and had touched her hooves to the ground. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise! All of you are here to see me spread eternal night! How kind of you to join us!"

Twilight stepped forward. "Nightmare Moon," she started, "why have you returned?"

"I want eternal night all over Equestria, is that not clear?"

Twilight raised her eyebrow, almost knowing that that wasn't the true reason for her return. "What is your real answer?"

Nightmare Moon scoffed at the question and started to charge at Twilight. Without any hesitation, Twilight attempted to use the Elements of Harmony once more. With hers still operational, she tried to use the other five, not having any luck unfortunately. Noticing that the Elements couldn't function without the other five ponies, Nightmare Moon used her magic to send Twilight flying away.

Now in a magic fight with Nightmare Moon, Twilight got back up and sent out a beam from her horn over to Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon did the same to Twilight and both beams were even. Nightmare Moon noticed the evenly matched beams and sent another one towards Twilight, sending Twilight's straight back to her. When the beams touched Twilight, she instantly vanished. Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor all saw this and were petrified at what Nightmare Moon had just done. Twilight Sparkle has been sent away and nopony knew where she was now.

Twilight Sparkle had reappeared in the Canterlot cemetery, where ponies who had put their mark on history were laid to rest. Twilight looked up at the tombstone that was in front of her. On it read, "Here lies Fluttershy the Kind. May the angels guide you to a softer, more gentler place." Twilight looked around and noticed the other tombstones near her had each of her friends. Twilight broke down into tears once more as she remembered the adventures she once had with each of these ponies. Without noticing, a spark from Twilight's horn had jumped off and separated into five pieces, each hitting the ground in front of each tombstone. The spark worked its way through the ground and managed to touch each pony.

Twilight stopped crying when she began to hear a pounding noise. She flapped her wings and began to hover in mid-air. When the ground below her started shaking, the five tombstones had fallen over. Holes began to appear thereafter and the tombstones had fallen into them. Twilight became even more frightened than she ever was. Once the ground stopped shaking, Twilight peered her head above each of the holes, noticing the coffins in each of them. When they began to move by themselves, Twilight jumped back, unsure of what would happen. Suddenly, all five coffins opened up and inside each of them were her friends. They began to move and all crawled out of their coffins and onto the ground. Once each of the five ponies were standing firmly on the ground, they returned back to how they originally looked back before Twilight had become a Princess, almost like magic.

"Girls? Is it really you?"

Back in the Crystal Empire, Nightmare Moon had successfully take over and spread eternal darkness all around. Cadence, Shining Armor, and Celestia were all trapped in a magic-proof bubble and had no way of escaping. All they could do was watch Nightmare Moon rule over all of Equestria with her eternal darkness. They were all helpless and had no idea as to how they could put a stop to Nightmare Moon and her evil plot, especially since Twilight has disappeared and they don't know where she is.

All of a sudden, a blinding white light appeared next to the magic-proof bubble Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor were in. When the light finally dimmed, out stood six different ponies, two pegasi, a unicorn, two Earth ponies, and what appeared to be an alicorn. It was Twilight and all her friends! Everypony was shocked, but none more than Nightmare Moon.

"But, but how is this possible?" She exclaimed. "They died almost 150 years ago! This is not possible!"

"Nothing can stop the magic of friendship, Nightmare Moon!" Twilight responded. Using the Elements of Harmony that were attached to the respective pony, Nightmare Moon had once again been defeated. The armor that surrounded Nightmare Moon shattered, and Luna reappeared as her old self. The magic-proof bubble also vanished and Celestia walked over to her defeated and helpless younger sister. Twilight and the others eagerly watched.

"My sister," started Celestia, "if you want everypony to know you, this is not the way to go."

Luna started tearing up. "Oh, big sis, I'm sorry..."

Celestia wrapped her hoof around her younger sister and held her tightly against her. Luna wiped away the tears from her eyes with her hoof and, together, left with Celestia to go lower the Moon and raise the Sun. Twilight and the others watched over as the two sisters calmly did this. When it was all over, Celestia returned to Canterlot, Cadence and Shining Armor returned to the Crystal Castle, and Twilight and her friends returned to Ponyville. Everypony was moved by these events, especially Twilight, since she could once again see her friends.

Luna was left alone and returned to the old, abandoned castle. There, she used her magic to make new armor and put it on the statue of Nightmare Moon. She knew she had been defeated, but she was a far ways off from giving up.

"Next time, I won't be defeated so easily! Those Elements must be destroyed!"

-END-


	2. Nightmare's Daze

Nightmare's Daze

When Nightmare Moon returned for a second time, it was up to Princess Twilight Sparkle to defeat her once more. The only problem was that Princess Twilight's friends, the other Element holders, had passed on and Twilight was all that was left to control and wield the Elements of Harmony. At first, she tried, but ultimately ended up failing. Then, Princess Twilight engaged in a magic battle with Nightmare Moon after Nightmare Moon sent over a magic beam towards Twilight. The fight didn't last too long, coming to the conclusion of Twilight's teleportation. Nightmare Moon transported Twilight away.

When Twilight reappeared, she was in the Canterlot Cemetery, where ponies who made their marks in history known were laid to rest. Twilight collapsed on the ground and wept, for in front of her were her friends. They have passed on nearly one hundred and fifty years prior to Nightmare Moon's second return. Twilight wept over the loss of each of her friends; she missed them dearly. What he didn't know was that a little bubble of magic escaped from her horn and split into five pieces, each dissolving in the ground around her friends. Moments later, the ground started shaking and Twilight hovered in the air. The tombstones fell over and five holes appeared in the ground, revealing five coffins. The coffins opened up and inside each of them were younger versions of Twilight's friends. In front of her stood Applejack the Honest, Fluttershy the Kindness, Pinkie Pie of Laughter, Rarity the Generous, and Rainbow Dash the Loyal.

"Girls, is it really you?" Twilight asked, revealing a tone of excitement in her voice.

Upon returning to Nightmare Moon, Princess Twilight was able to wield the Elements of Harmony and transform Nightmare Moon back into her current state, aka Princess Luna. Time has since passed since these events and, unfortunately, Princess Twilight's friends have all passed on once more.

What Twilight didn't know was that the spell she performed on her friends the first time was only able to be used just one time on any pony. Today, Twilight properly gave her friends a funeral and set them back down into their graves. Twilight then locked herself away in her old home back in Ponyville. She hadn't been in Ponyville for a long time ever since she was given the responsibility to rule over Baltimare by herself. Her friends actually lived with her inside her large castle in Baltimare while they were alive the second time. There, they had plenty of new and exciting adventures, filled with fun and tons of smiles and laughter.

Twilight ultimately decided to lock herself up in the Golden Oaks Library, whom she still managed the entire time, because she didn't want to look at the new memories she had displayed in the castle in Baltimare. What Twilight failed to take note on was that the voices that convinced Luna to become Nightmare Moon once more had detached from Luna and attached themselves to Twilight. They remained silent for a long time but now, now was when they decided to showcase themselves once more and attempt to convince Twilight to become the new Nightmare Moon.

"You know that good things never happen to good ponies," the spirit (voices) rang, "why do you not turn to the dark side like how Luna did?"

Twilight looked around, unaware of where those voices were coming from.

"Who's there?" Twilight asked cautiously. "Show yourself!"

"Why so serious, 'Princess' Twilight?" The voices howled.

Twilight frantically looked around her, trying to locate the voices. She was frightened beyond belief after she failed to find anypony else with her.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked.

"The question is, 'Who are you?'" The voices responded.

"You know who I am." Twilight replied.

"But do you know who we are?"

Twilight was growing even more fearful. She was running around hectically trying to find out the source of the voices, unable to find where they were coming from.

"Give up?" The voices demonically asked.

Twilight sighed. "Who are you?"

Just then, the voices took control of Twilight. Twilight's eyes shone off a bright green light as the spirits (voices) increased her height, changed her cutie mark to a crescent moon, gave her a long, eloquent flowing mane, and put on some armor, resembling much like Nightmare Moon's armor.

"What's happening to me?" Twilight screamed.

She tried fighting the spirits (voices) that were taking control of her but was ultimately failing. She tried repelling the spirits with a protection spell but the spell was countered by the spirit's overpowering strength.

"Who, ugh, are you?" Twilight grunted. She shut her eyes, then fell under the control of the spirit.

Once the transformation was complete, Twilight opened up her eyes, which changed to match the retinas and corneas of a cats' eyes.

"Why, our name is Nightmare Sparkle!" Twilight uncontrollably said.

* * *

"We really should check up on Twilight. She must be feeling horrid for witnessing the loss of her friends not just once, but twice!"

"We should, but we don't know where she currently is at this moment. It's almost like she disappeared off the face of the Earth."

Celestia, alongside Cadance, Shining Armor, and Luna were all located in the throne room of the Crystal Castle in the Crystal Empire. The royal ponies were currently discussing the future of Princess Twilight after what she experienced not only once, but twice. They agreed that Twilight wouldn't have been able to endure the pain of losing her friends twice and mutually agreed that something needed to be done in order to cheer Twilight up, unless something were to happen.

"We really should check up on her though." Shining Armor said, breaking some tense silence.

"I'm sure we'd all love to," Celestia replied, "but the only problem is that we don't know where Princess Twilight is."

"I know Twily better than anypony." Shining Armor continued. "I'm pretty sure she's probably back in her old home right now, letting some stress get out of her system."

Suddenly, a royal guard burst through the doors. All the royal ponies then turned their attention away from each other and turned towards the guard, who was panting from the run he just had.

"Princess...Cadance." The guard started, struggling to grasp some air.

"What seems to be the problem?" Cadance asked.

"Is everything alright?" Celestia added.

The guard managed to regain control of his breathing and told the royal ponies what was troubling him.

"An alicorn has been reported of going berserk in a little town called Ponyville."

"An alicorn?" Luna repeated.

"Yes," continued the guard, "and they're supposedly making their way over to us!"

"Are you sure?" Shining Armor asked.

"The only other alicorn we know is Twilight," continued Cadance, "but based off of what you told us, that doesn't sound anything like Twilight."

"I swear I'm not making any of this up!" The guard pleaded. "What I'm telling you is the honest truth!"

The royal ponies failed to believe the guard as they dismissed him of his duties.

"I highly doubt that Twilight would be the alicorn doing that." Luna started.

Suddenly, a loud sound, reminiscent of an explosion, sounded outside. The royal ponies were astonished and baffled by the sound and immediately ran towards the window. Upon looking outside, a large black cloud came from one of the homes and above the cloud was an alicorn. The alicorn appeared to be Twilight, but some notable differences convinced the royal ponies that it was not her.

"Who is that?" Celestia asked, revealing a tone of fear in her voice.

The alicorn spotted the royal ponies in the window of the Crystal Castle. They angrily sent over a fairly powerful beam of magic towards the window and shattered it into tons of sharp, tiny pieces. The group of royal ponies all managed to move out of harm's way just in time. The alicorn that sent over the beam made their way towards the shattered window and flew inside the Crystal Castle. Looking around, she spotted Celestia, Luna, and Cadance on her left and Shining Armor on the right. Casually stepping forward, the alicorn met face to face with Celestia, whom had also stepped up, providing some protection to the other alicorns (and unicorn) behind her.

"Who are you?" Celestia demanded.

The alicorn, who was the exact same height as Celestia, failed to reply. Instead, they gazed around at the surrounding scenery.

"Who are you!?" Celestia asked, demanding an answer.

Once again, the alicorn failed to answer back. As a result, Luna stepped forward and, using the Royal Canterlot voice, demanded that the alicorn answer her older sister's question.

"Who are you!?" Luna asked in the Royal Canterlot voice.

The alicorn gazed back into Celestia's eyes. Celestia gazed into the alicorn's eyes deeply, somehow recognizing them from somewhere before, although she couldn't exactly place where she had seen them before. After some extensive and tense silence, the alicorn finally answered back, using the Royal Canterlot voice.

"We are Nightmare Sparkle!" They roared.

The royal ponies took a step backwards, unsure if what they just heard was actually what was spoken.

"What?" Celestia questioned.

The alicorn stepped forward, stomping her hooves on the ground, making the ground shake vigorously.

"You heard us, Celestia!" The alicorn continued. "We are Nightmare Sparkle!"

Luna had stepped forward, coming to a halt beside her older sister. Peering her head towards her sister, she calmly and quietly whispered to her-

"I think the spirit of Nightmare Moon has taken over Twilight Sparkle, my sister."

"What makes you say that?" Celestia responded.

"Well," continued Luna, "for one, their name is Nightmare Sparkle, a mixture between Nightmare Moon and Twilight Sparkle."

Celestia gazed back at the alicorn in front of her. What puzzled her mind was that this couldn't be Twilight, but there were no other alicorns in the immediate vicinity. This also couldn't be a changeling since changelings took the shape of existing ponies. The alicorn standing in front of the royal ponies seemed to have armor embedded into their body, something nopony has. She stared into the alicorn's eyes, studying the resemblance between them and Twilight's. In retrospect, the eyes were completely the same, with the exception of the cat-like cornea this alicorn had. With no other options, Celestia stepped forward, meeting the tall alicorn in front of her, face-to-face. She sighed, then proceeded to ask the alicorn a very serious question.

"Where is Princess Twilight?" Celestia asked.

The alicorn refused to answer. Instead, they shunted backwards a bit. They spread their wings as far as they would go and stared blankly into Celestia's eyes.

Celestia was growing impatient. Again, she demanded that the alicorn reveal the whereabouts of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Why, Celestia," the alicorn grimily replied, "you're looking right at us!"

The royal ponies shuffled back, fearing the worst had come true. Celestia shockingly looked into the eyes of the acute alicorn stationed in front of her, trying to piece together all that was said.

"Twily?" Shining Armor quietly asked.

The tall alicorn gazed over towards the unicorn prince. Pointing a hoof over towards Shining Armor, the alicorn started speaking again.

"Bingo!" The alicorn stated. "We have a winner!"

The royal ponies were simply astonished; they couldn't believe that this was Twilight.

"Twilight," Luna started, "how did you...?"

She drifted off as she began checking out the details of this alicorn.

"Our name is no longer Twilight!" The alicorn boomed. "Our name is Nightmare Sparkle!"

"And what exactly are you here for?" Celestia questioned. "It can't be for eternal night; the sun is still high up in the sky."

Nightmare Sparkle gave Celestia a cold gaze, answering the troubling question that was on everypony's mind.

"We are here for eternal sadness!" Nightmare Sparkle roared. "If we must live in regret, dysphoria, and anguish, then everypony else must too!"

With a huff, Nightmare Sparkle stormed out the shattered window and flew far, far away, starting her reign of eternal tribulation.

The royal ponies all crowded around the shattered window, watching Nightmare Sparkle storm off in a hurry. Celestia spoke as she watched her former faithful student fly away in forlornness.

"We simply must put a stop to Twilight before she does any more damage to Equestria."

Cadance gazed away from the window and stared into Celestia's eyes.

"How will we do that?"

Celestia was unable to answer that question for Cadance and every other pony.

* * *

"Where shall we begin?" Nightmare Sparkle asked herself.

She flew over the dilapidated Ponyville, scrutinizing the poor, severely mutilated citizens. Several explosions from earlier resulted in fires, which scattered across the tiny town. Many of those fires still occurred, with plenty of fireponies unable to put them out, due to their unrealistic strength. The only place that seemed to be left virtually untouched was the Golden Oaks Library. The spirit of Nightmare Moon may have taken over Twilight, but deep down, Twilight was able to control the spirits from destroying he old home. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the citizens of Ponyville.

Nightmare Sparkle gazed down at the peasants a little while longer before flying off in a hurry to the next town.

"Where should we begin?" She asked herself.

Nightmare Sparkle flew over the city of Baltimare and decided that it be best to start here. She began by casting a lightning spell to strike some of the buildings in the nearby vicinity, setting many of them ablaze.

"Sweet, sweet sadness and bitterness!" Nightmare Sparkle laughed, evilly might I add.

The citizens below we're running frantic, desperately trying to steer clear of harm's ultimate wrath.

"Where is Princess Twilight!" Some of the ponies shouted.

Nightmare Sparkle continued observing the disarray of the citizens below, laughing evilly in the process. Just then, a beam of magic, which was randomly shot by a random pony, struck and hit Nightmare Sparkle. Recovering from the hit, Nightmare Sparkle sent over a beam of magic of her own.

"You." Nightmare Sparkle gasped.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Crystal Castle in the Crystal Empire, the royal ponies were trying to overcome the fact that Twilight had been taken over by the spirit of Nightmare Moon, attempting to devise a plan to defeat Nightmare Sparkle and bring Twilight back.

"How do we go about defeating Nightmare Sparkle?" Cadance asked.

The other ponies stared at each other, waiting for an answer from somepony, anypony. The bitter taste of silence was alarming to even the bravest of ponies. Finally, Celestia stepped forward, starting to release her inner thoughts.

"It pains me to say this, but I don't know how we should go about this." Celestia ruefully said.

The other ponies looked down in shame. The answer they were seeking proved to be tougher than expected.

"What about the Elements of Harmony?" Shining Armor suggested.

"Using them would be futile." Celestia responded.

"How come?" Cadance asked.

"We aren't connected to them like Twilight is." Celestia continued.

"We have to do something, though." Shining Armor stated.

The group of royal ponies continued searching for answers. Finally, Cadance started to offer a suggestion.

"The Elements of Harmony are connected to only Twilight, right?"

"That is correct." answered Celestia.

"And that alicorn is not Twilight anymore, right?" continued Cadance.

"Yes," answered Celestia.

"What exactly are you getting at?" asked Shining Armor.

"Well, dear," continued Cadance, if that's no longer Twilight, shouldn't the Elements of Harmony no longer be connected to her?"

Celestia and Shining Armor both gazed at each other, absorbing what Cadance just said.

"That...could be a possibility." Celestia answered.

"It might be our only chance to bring Twily back to us." Shining Armor added.

"Then let us go retrieve the Elements." Cadance suggested.

"They're most likely back in either the Golden Oaks Library or Twilight's castle in Baltimare." Celestia said. "Let's check Twilight's castle first."

"Right." Both Shining Armor and Cadance answered.

Shining Armor and Cadance then left the throne room. Celestia, on the other hoof, stood back awhile and searched the room for her sister.

"Where did Princess Luna go?" She asked herself.

Shining Armor then came back into the room and called for Celestia.

"Is everything alright, Princess Celestia?" He asked.

Celestia looked around the room a bit longer before answering Shining Armor.

"Everything's fine, Shining Armor." Celestia replied, following him out of the throne room.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Nightmare Sparkle asked, revealing a tone of fear in her voice.

"Are thou _afraid _of us?" A new voice said.

"'Afraid?'" Nightmare Sparkle scoffed. "We are not afraid of anything!"

"It sure seems like thou are!"

"We are not afraid of anything, peasant!" Nightmare Sparkle shot back.

This pony flying in front of Nightmare Sparkle took those words very harsh.

"We know thou did not call us "peasant," thou ungrateful whelp!"

"And what if we did?" Nightmare Sparkle replied. "What are you gonna do about it, Nightmare Moon?"

Nightmare Moon huffed, showcasing her powerful unicorn magic as a sign of warning for what was about to come. Nightmare Sparkle saw this and just laughed and laughed.

"Ooh, we're so scared!" Nightmare Sparkle sarcastically stated.

"Thou should be!" Nightmare Moon replied, shooting a beam of magic towards Nightmare Sparkle.

Nightmare Sparkle noticed the beam and flew out of the way with ease.

"Is that the best you can do?" Nightmare Sparkle teased. "How pathetic!"

Nightmare Sparkle then used her magic to summon a bolt of lightning, striking Nightmare Moon head on. Nightmare Moon endured the lightning and was left in a daze as she continued battling Nightmare Sparkle. Nightmare Sparkle's magic was truly ferocious and insanely strong. Nightmare Moon had a feeling that this may have been the case, since the spirit of Nightmare Moon had taken over Twilight's body and magic abilities, but never did she think that her magic would be this strong. Nightmare Moon recovered from the lightning strike and summoned a lightning strike of her own, successfully striking Nightmare Sparkle.

"Thou will feel the pain that we feel!" Nightmare Moon roared.

"Equestria isn't big enough for the both of us!" Nightmare Sparkle yelled upon being struck by lightning.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of Baltimare, Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor have successfully located the Elements of Harmony within Twilight's castle. Instead of the usual, respective colors that were supposed to be on each Element, in their spots were blank, colorless features. Celestia grabbed the Elements using her magic and brought them over to where she and the other ponies were standing.

Without notice, the Elements started hovering on their own, locating the pony that best fit the Element on their own as well. The Elements of Magic and Honesty hovered in front of Celestia. The Elements of Loyalty and Generosity hovered in front of Shining Armor. Last but not least, the Elements of Laughter and Kindness hovered in front of Cadance. Taking their respective Element, Celestia, Shining Armor, and Cadance attached them to their bodies and rushed out of Princess Twilight's castle.

Once they were outside, the three ponies looked up in the air and noticed Nightmare Sparkle summoning a lightning bolt. They couldn't tell if it was to somepony or to a building, so the three quickly rushed over to the location of Nightmare Sparkle, with the hopes of defeating her and bringing Princess Twilight Sparkle back to them.

"We nary a moment to spare!" Celestia shouted as they made their way towards Nightmare Sparkle.

Cadance and Shining Armor both agreed as they hustled to the location of Nightmare Sparkle.

"Almost there!" Shining Armor shouted. "Just a bit further!"

The three ponies then saw Nightmare Sparkle summoning yet another lightning strike, only it was towards another alicorn.

"Princess Luna?" Cadance questioned.

"Nightmare Moon..." Celestia corrected.

"But...how?" continued Cadance.

"I don't know..." Celestia finished.

* * *

Up in the sky, the battle between Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Sparkle raged on, with neither side conceding an inch. Both sides continued raging on, driven by the determination of defeating the other. Finally, Nightmare Moon delivered an unexpected and tremendous blow to Nightmare Sparkle. The beam of magic she sent over was truly mind boggling; it had grounded Nightmare Sparkle.

Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor were all watching in horror the battle between two corrupted versions of ponies they knew and loved. The three of them decided to take action after Nightmare Sparkle had been grounded. The three of them positioned themselves and started to use the Elements of Harmony. The only problem was that neither Cadance nor Shining Armor knew how to activate them.

"How do we use them, Princess Celestia?" Shining Armor asked.

"Just trace the inner abilities of each Element you represent and the rest will come naturally." answered Celestia.

Cadance and Shining Armor both followed the advice Celestia had oven them and traced the abilities of each Element they represented, managing to activate them successfully.

Within seconds, the Elements were ready for usage. Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor all hovered in mid-air while a rainbow shot out from them. The rainbow bent over and reigned down on the dreadfully tired and severely hurt Nightmare Sparkle.

"Not again!" Nightmare Sparkle roared as she became encased in the rainbow prison.

A few moments later, the spirit of Nightmare Moon had been stripped away from Twilight. The pain Twilight was undergoing while the spirits were being stripped away was unbearable. After they had been stripped away, Twilight fell over, unconscious.

Nightmare Moon had watched the whole thing happen and gazed at her older sister Celestia.

"You're welcome." Nightmare Moon said, converting back to Princess Luna and her form.

* * *

A couple of days have passed by since Nightmare Sparkle was defeated. Twilight was too weak to rule and lead Baltimare, so Shining Armor took over as interim ruler. He cared deeply for his younger sister, while keeping his duties in tact.

This morning, Twilight woke up and finally asked Shining Armor what exactly happened.

"You were taken over by Nightmare Moon and became the villain known as Nightmare Sparkle." Shining Armor replied.

"How did you defeat...me, I guess." asked Twilight.

Shining Armor gazed away as he answered Twilight's question.

"Uh...using the Elements of Harmony that you're no longer connected to..." Shining Armor then gave an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Well," continued Twilight, "it doesn't matter that I'm no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony. Having a responsibility that huge is tough, especially when you have dozens of other responsibilities to go with them. Plus, it'll be easier for you to use the Elements than I. Is it just you who is connected to them?"

"No, Celestia and Cadance also are connected to them."

"Even better for you." finished Twilight.

"What do you say we take a trip and go visit Celestia and Luna?" Shining Armor suggested. "Cadance is supposed to be there as well."

"That sounds wonderful." Twilight answered.

* * *

Twilight and Shining Armor had arrived in Canterlot about a half hour later. Canterlot was full of busy, important looking ponies, lining up the streets on this fabulous Friday morning. The two siblings arrived at the Canterlot Castle in no time and headed for the throne room. Once they arrived at the throne room, a unicorn guard happily opened up the door for them.

"Thank you, kind sir." Twilight said.

"Much obliged." Shining Armor added.

Inside the throne room stood Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, whom were all happy to see Twilight out and about. They greeted the two siblings formerly, then got straight to what important matters.

"Wonderful to see you, Twilight." Celestia started.

"It feels great to be back outside!" Twilight replied.

"I suppose you're wondering what happened over the last few days." Luna said.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you three about." Twilight continued. "Shining Armor says that you used the Elements of Harmony against me. Is that true?"

Cadance nodded. "It is true, Twilight."

Twilight did nothing but smile. "Thank goodness! I was starting to get a bit worried there!"

"What do you mean?" asked Celestia.

"Well, for one, it sure feels nice to have the responsibilities of the Elements of Harmony taken off of my hooves." Twilight answered.

"I admit," continued Celestia, "they are a big responsibility."

"Yes, and another thing," Twilight turned towards Luna, "Shining Armor told me you played the role of Nightmare Moon and that you fought me."

Twilight paused for a short while, then picked back up after some tense silence.

"How is that possible?" She asked. "The spirit of Nightmare Moon took over me. How could you become Nightmare Moon if the spirits that persuaded you into becoming Nightmare Moon no longer existed inside of you?"

Luna smiled. "Twilight Sparkle, remember the time you helped me out on Nightmare Night back in Ponyville all those years ago?"

"Yes," Twilight answered, revealing a tone of puzzlement in her voice, "but what does that have to do with this?"

"Remember when I took the place of the Nightmare Moon statue in the Everfree Forest?" Luna asked.

"Yes?"

"Well, you remember that the spirits didn't take over my body," continued Luna, "you remember I was just playing the part of Nightmare Moon, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, what I did to you when you failed to cooperate with the rest of us was no different than that." Luna finished.

Twilight took in what Luna just explained, eventually understanding what she had meant.

"So you were just playing the part of Nightmare Moon, but wasn't actually Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked.

"Precisely, Twilight Sparkle." Luna replied.

Twilight smiled, then started laughing. The other royal ponies also started laughing. They laughed and laughed and laughed, to the point where they were all breathless. Regaining her breath, Twilight apologized for her actions while she was Nightmare Sparkle.

"It's quite alright," Celestia stated.

"You didn't mean what you did." Luna added.

* * *

That night, high up in the skies was the ghost of the spirit of Nightmare Moon. It roamed the skies of the Crystal Empire, breaking into the Crystal Castle and, ultimately, into Cadance's room.

_Time for our next victim! _The ghost thought, fusing with Cadance. _Until next_ _time!_

The ghost then evilly laughed, fortunately getting away with it for the Princess of Love was exhausted.

_Till we meet again, Nightmare Sparkle and Nightmare Moon!_


End file.
